Asia Foundation, UP convene Yolanda Transparency Forum

THE University of the Philippines (UP) units based in Eastern Visayas, namely, the UP Tacloban College and the School of Health Sciences, with full support from the Asia Foundation, convened on March 20 the Yolanda Transparency Forum at the Ritz Tower de Leyte in Tacloban City.

Dr. Anita Cular, dean of the UP Visayas Tacloban College, said the activity is in line with the Philippine Government’s thrust to ensure transparency and enforce accountability in the efforts toward recovery and reconstruction of Typhoon Yolanda-affected areas.

Yolanda Transparency Forum was a one-day exchange of information and productive interaction between and among stakeholders in the relief, recovery and rehabilitation efforts for Yolanda-affected areas in Eastern Visayas.

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The forum aimed to look into the convergence and financing of multi-sectoral efforts for reconstruction; clarify existing mechanisms for transparency of reconstruction assistance; and identify ways to enhance the transparency mechanisms so that local governments and local civil society organizations will have better access to information useful in moving forward locally-initiated reconstruction efforts.

Dr. Cular said the magnitude of the disaster wrought by Typhoon Yolanda and the scope of the recovery effort needed to address long-standing development issues rendered obsolete long-standing paradigms on disaster response and recovery.

The Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda called for institutional arrangements that combine strong central coordination and oversight with flexible implementation on the ground.

The same balancing act is needed to fast-track operations to respond to overwhelming humanitarian need while ensuring transparency and enforcing accountability, Cular added. (PIA)

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